Angry Birds

This week I installed the Beta of Angry Birds for Android.  Now I know what all the buzz was about.  The premise is well-worn, but the execution is fantastic.  What a fun game.

Even better, this morning I hear that Angry Birds for Android is out of Beta and a full, free (ad-supported) version is now available.  The developer, Rovio, has decided to release it outside of the Android Market.  This freedom is one of the many great benefits of Android.

Of course, there are downsides to it too, because every possible location from which to download the full version is down this morning because of the great demand (even the DropBox accounts of nice people on internet forums have been overwhelmed).

All in all, I think this just speaks of the growing popularity of the Android platform and, yes, the heretofore lack of decent games for it.  As for me, the importance of a powerful mobile platform is (mostly) not about gaming, but communication, planning, and doing what you need – no matter where you are.  My ability to takes meeting notes in Evernote on my phone and then search through all of my meetings after the fact.  Or checking my calendar, my wife’s calendar, and the group calendar of all of my gaming friends and making appointments while I’m out and about.  Or updating this site from my phone while I sit on the can.

These are the important functions that Android can provide us all.